The French tennis star Benjamin Bonzi registered a sensational 7-6 (5), 6-7 (5), 6-1 victory against World No. 35 Botic van de Zandschulp to progress into the singles final in the fifth edition of the Tata Open Maharashtra at the Balewadi Stadium in Pune on Friday.
The 26-year-old player began the semi-final by winning an exciting opening set but the No. 2 seed Van de Zandschulp fought-back well, taking away the next which saw equally intense battle between the two as both the sets went into tie-breakers.
Bozi, however, shifted the gears impressively in the decider and looked in complete command as he not only made a spectacular comeback to pocket the set in a dominating fashion but also clinched the nail-biting three-setter.
The on-going edition of South Asia’s only ATP 250 event is being conducted by the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association (MSLTA) in association with the Government of Maharashtra for the fifth year in Pune.
The World No. 60 Bonzi will face Tallon Griekspoor in the final on Saturday. Griekspoor, ranked 95th in the world, sent packing No. 8 seed Aslan Karatsev 7-6 (4), 6-1 in the other semi-final.